Page 30 of Flare (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters #17)

By late afternoon, Emily could hit the target consistently, though her shots still scattered widely across the paper. Her arms ached, and her ears rang despite the earplugs and protective muffs.

“ You ’ re doing great,” Ward encouraged. “ Let ’ s take a break and work on some self-defense basics.”

He taught her how to break free from common holds—wrists, arms, even a chokehold from behind. Emily found herself pressed against Ward ’ s body repeatedly as they practiced, each touch sending warmth through her despite the serious nature of their training.

“ Remember,” Ward said as he showed her how to use leverage against a larger opponent, “ your goal isn ’ t to win a fight with someone like Andrew. It ’ s creating enough space to run and get help.”

Emily nodded, suddenly overwhelmed by the reality of her situation. Against a normal man, these techniques might give her a fighting chance. But against a bear shifter with Andrew ’ s strength and rage? No way .

“ What if running isn ’ t enough?” she asked quietly.

Ward ’ s hands tightened on her shoulders. “ That ’ s why you have a gun now. And why you ’ ll never be alone.” He hesitated, then added, “ I won ’ t let him hurt you, Emily.”

∞∞∞

Tuesday dawned with the promise of another beautiful spring day.

The shooting and self-defense lessons yesterday had left Emily ’ s arms and shoulders sore, but the boost in her confidence was well worth it.

And the hot shower they ’ d shared after they returned home had turned into a slippery session of playfully exploring each other ’ s bodies.

“ Ready for something fun?” Ward asked her over breakfast, his warm smile making her heart flutter. “ Do you have hiking boots?”

She nodded. “ I remembered to pack them when I left Andrew ’ s place. Why? Where are we going?”

“ I want to show you my favorite place, if you ’ re up for a hike.” His smile broadened into a full grin. “ It ’ s a great place to picnic.”

“ I ’ d love that,” Emily said.

Ward destroyed her fun an instant later by saying, “ But first, let ’ s go over to Tony ’ s range and practice shooting some more.”

∞∞∞

The trailhead was about twenty minutes outside of town, a narrow path cutting through a dense forest. Ward shouldered the large, heavy backpack containing their picnic lunch and water, refusing Emily ’ s offers to carry something.

The trail climbed steadily upward, zigzagging through stands of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir.

Emily paused frequently, not just to catch her breath but to admire the wildflowers dotting the forest floor—vibrant purple lupines and delicate white trilliums.

“ Look there,” Ward said quietly, pointing to a fallen log where a chipmunk sat upright, tiny paws working at something edible. The creature froze at their approach, then darted away in a blur of striped fur.

An hour into the hike, the trees thinned, and Ward reached back to take Emily ’ s hand. “ Almost there,” he promised, leading her around a large boulder.

Emily gasped as they emerged onto a rocky bluff. Below them, the Salmon River cut through the valley like a silver ribbon, sparkling in the midday sun. Mountains rose on all sides, their slopes carpeted in evergreens, with patches of snow still clinging to the highest peaks.

“ Oh, Ward,” she breathed. “ It ’ s absolutely beautiful.”

He squeezed her hand, looking pleased at her reaction. “ Best view in Idaho, if you ask me.”

Ward spread a blanket on a flat area of the bluff, then unpacked their lunch—thick roast beef sandwiches on homemade bread, a container of pasta salad, fresh strawberries, and a small loaf of what looked like Maggie ’ s lemon pound cake, dusted with a generous topping of powdered sugar.

“ Did you make these?” Emily asked, unwrapping a sandwich.

“ The sandwiches, yes. The cake is from Maggie ’ s bakery. She told me you love lemon cake.”

They ate in comfortable silence, occasionally commenting on the view or pointing out a hawk circling lazily on thermal currents above the river.

When they finished, Ward stretched out on his back, one arm behind his head, the other invitingly extended toward Emily.

She didn ’ t hesitate, stretching out beside him, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder. His arm curled around her, drawing her closer until she could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her cheek.

“ This was a great idea,” she murmured. “ Thank you for bringing me here.”

Ward ’ s response was to roll her on top of him. His hazel eyes searched hers briefly before he pulled her down to him and gave her a gentle, lingering kiss.

Emily returned the kiss with enthusiasm, her hands coming to rest on either side of his head. Beneath her, she felt the steady thump of his heart speed up. Heat spread through her body as the kiss deepened.

They spent long minutes teasing each other with increasingly bold touches and caresses. Ward ’ s hand skimmed her side, thumb brushing the underside of her breast through her thin hiking shirt, then teasing her nipple through her bra and making her shiver.

Emily grew bolder too, her fingers tracing the hard planes of his chest and stomach, dipping beneath the hem of his shirt to caress his warm skin.

Eventually, he unzipped her jeans, slipped his hand into her underwear, and fingered her to a sweet climax as he sucked on her nipples.

“ I can ’ t get enough of you,” Ward admitted, voice husky, when she lay panting on the blanket.

Emily smiled, feeling a blush warm her cheeks. “ I feel the same way. You ’ re a great kisser.”

She was charmed to see a blush rising from the collar of his flannel shirt and disappearing beneath his beard.

“ Your turn,” she said, running her knuckles over the large bulge on the front of his hiking pants. “ I love sucking your cock, Ward.”

Much later, they lay curled together on the blanket. Emily ’ s head rested on Ward ’ s arm as they watched clouds drift across the impossibly blue sky.

“ I ’ m thinking about whether to keep the cabinets when I finally renovate my kitchen,” Ward said after a while. “ I was going to replace them with custom cabinets, but lately I ’ ve been having second thoughts, since they ’ re original to the house.”

“ Maybe a mixture of old and new?” Emily asked. “ I mean, the new kitchen is going to be a lot bigger than the old one, right? You ’ ll need extra cabinets, even if you keep the originals.”

He chuckled. “ Good point. Plus, I ’ ve already bought the wood to make the new boxes and doors.”

Emily propped herself up on one elbow to look at him. “ I ’ m so impressed you know how to make cabinets and tables and stuff like that from scratch.”

“ It ’ s what I do for a living,” he reminded her, smiling.

“ It ’ s still amazing,” she said sincerely. “ I can barely hang a picture straight.”

“ What about you?” Ward asked. “ Having fun organizing Maggie ’ s back office?”

Emily nodded enthusiastically. “ This is going to make me sound like a complete geek, but I love process improvement. It ’ s so satisfying when things work better than before. Maggie ’ s an amazing baker, but her filing system was basically ‘ throw it in a drawer and hope for the best.’”

“ Um… sounds like the Swanson family method.” Ward laughed. “ True confession: my office is in worse shape than Maggie ’ s.”

“ What do you do for invoicing and bookkeeping?” she asked.

His expression turned sheepish. “ I send estimates and invoices by email. For everything else, I stuff receipts in a shoebox and panic around tax time.”

“ Ward!” Emily sat up, staring down at him in mock horror. “ That ’ s a terrible way to live!”

“ I know, I know.” He raised his hands in surrender. “ I love the woodworking part of my business. But the actual business part… not so much.”

“ Oh, boy,” Emily muttered. “ Look, I could give you a list of good small business accounting software programs that integrate invoicing, payments, bookkeeping, and tax prep.”

“ I have a better idea,” Ward said. “ Once you ’ ve gotten Maggie all straightened out, would you consider helping me? I ’ d pay you, of course.”

“ I ’ d love to help you,” she said eagerly. “ And you don ’ t have to pay me. After everything you ’ ve done for me, I owe you, big time.”

“ Emily.” Ward ’ s voice was gentle but firm. “ You don ’ t owe me anything.”

“ I know that,” she assured him. “ But friends help each other, right? And I ’ d love to do something for you I ’ m good at.”

The smile that spread across Ward ’ s face made her heart skip. “ Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse?”

They spent another hour on the bluff, alternating between comfortable conversation and kisses.

At last, they reluctantly packed up their picnic and started the hike back down to the trailhead. Emily and Ward walked hand in hand, occasionally stopping to share a quick kiss or point out an interesting plant or bird.

They were within sight of Ward ’ s truck when his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, glancing at the screen.

“ It ’ s Uncle Dane,” he said, answering. “ Hey, Uncle D., what ’ s up?”

Emily watched Ward ’ s expression shift from relaxed to alert, his jaw tightening as he listened.

“ When?” he asked. “ And where? Okay. Yeah, I ’ ve got Emily with me. We ’ ll be careful.”

He ended the call and turned to Emily, his earlier ease replaced by tension.

“ What is it?” she asked, though she already suspected the answer.

“ One of the ranch ’ s trail cams caught a large male grizzly patrolling the fence line,” Ward said, his voice carefully neutral. “ Uncle Dane wanted to give us a heads-up.”

Emily felt the happy bubble of their day together burst. Reality rushed in like icy water. “ It ’ s Andrew, isn ’ t it?”

“ Maybe. Cade ’ s driving over there right now to check it out.”

But Emily knew .

It wouldn ’ t take long for Andrew to figure out she wasn ’ t staying at the ranch anymore. He was still in the area, testing boundaries, and looking for her.

“ Hey.” Ward pulled her against his chest, his arms strong around her. “ I won ’ t let him hurt you.”